Another Exaggerated Sex-Trade Stat

Counting sex slaves is a very complicated task, but one that advocates of the fight against sex trafficking don’t shy away from.

I wrote in 2007 that U.S. advocates’ estimates of 10,000 sex slaves brought into the country annually could be overblown; I cited a Washinton Post report. This week, the Guardian exhaustively dissected the source of estimates that thousands of women were trafficked into the U.K. each year to be foreced into the sex trade.

As often happens, the estimate started with a much smaller number that was then speculatively increased to cover all the cases that police and the press haven’t uncovered. Then follow-up reports cited the initial one, scrapping the details about the speculation and fudging definitions. For example, what about those who were smuggled into a country, but not for prostitution?

“The cacophony of voices has created the illusion of confirmation,” The Guardian’s Nick Davies writes. And with sensitive issues such as this one, it can be hard to find voices on the other side; after all, no one who wants accurate numbers wants to be seen as supporting sex trafficking.

About The Numbers

The Wall Street Journal examines numbers in the news, business and politics. Some numbers are flat-out wrong or biased, while others are valid and help us make informed decisions. We tell the stories behind the stats in occasional updates on this blog.